Thursday, March 7, 2013

Will Cherry Could Play Saturday

I mentioned this in my review post, but it was worth it's own spot here. From Bob Meseroll comes some great news for Montana fans, and really for fans of the Big Sky.

Montana will honor seniors Mathias Ward and Will Cherry in its regular-season finale Saturday night against Northern Arizona. Ward is done for the season after having surgery on his injured left foot on Wednesday. Cherry, who has missed three straight games with an injury to his right foot, was in uniform Thursday night, but did not play. Rumor has it Cherry will see some minutes on Saturday.

Obviously if he is at the point where he may see minutes Saturday, that bodes well for his chances of playing in the Big Sky tournament. That could change things dramatically. Without Cherry or Mathias Ward, Weber State would likely be a big favorite in the tournament no matter where it is played. If Cherry is back, that could change everything.

5 comments:

I hate to be negative Jon, as I do enjoy reading your big sky blogs. BUT....Every other post you put is about Montana or some form of Will Cherry update. I hate to say this, seeing that I enjoy the kids passion and style of play, BUT...we get it! He didn't break his foot again, he's doing fine, he may suit up, he had eggs and toast for breakfast, and his favorite show is Friends.

It just seems that you update us on his every move, and some of us fans come on here, to hear about the BIG SKY, not Will Cherry.....everyday!

There has been a boatload of injuries recently and cuurently this season, No press for these guys at all:

Your site definitely shows your favorite, and thats not good, when your blog site is titled BIGSKYBBALL. Just my opinion, I cant speak everyone, although im sure i have some that feel the same way, but hey it's your site guy!

Hey there! I appreciate your comment and your opinion is not lost on me. I have talked some about the injuries to those guys, but you are right, not nearly as much... in my defense, here are the reasons to cover every update with regards to Cherry:

- Montana and Weber State are 1 and 2, clearly above the rest. This is the same as last year, and has been true all of this year. So, naturally these guys will get a little more coverage because they are so good, and so much is written about them elsewhere (which I try to link to other articles when I can).- When healthy, Cherry is the best player in the conference. So, he's the best player on the top team. If he plays in the conference tournament, UM has a great chance of winning the Big Sky. If he doesn't, it takes a huge blow to the top team in the conference and completely changes the complexion of the Big Sky tournament. Like it or not, his health has a huge impact on the rest of the conference for that reason. That is not true for guys like Blount, Shuler, etc. That is not a slight to those guys, just the way it is.

I wish I could write more about all those other guys, I really do... unfortunately I have a limited amount of time during the week to write the blog, so I try to hit the biggest storylines. Over the last couple weeks, the health of Montana's guys (Cherry, Ward) IMO have been the biggest storyline other than all of the races for the positioning in the tournament, just because their health has such an impact overall on the tournament.

Thanks for reading and hopefully you at least sort of understand my position on this one!

Jon is writing about the players that really matter. Hate to say it, but Cherry, if the conference would have had one, would have been the preseason POTY for the Conference. Fact...Montana is the top program in the Sky. Fact...Will Cherry is the best player in the Sky. Fact...Montana has been on an amazing run since Cherry joined the league. Fact...Will Cherry is an extremely important part of Montana's success and is a necessary cog in the wheel that is Montana basketball. Without him, in all likelihood, the Griz will not beat Weber State (fact, I'm a HUGE Weber State fan, and think that Weber is the better team, even with Ward and Cherry suiting up for Montana. Glen Beck Fuzziness...Cherry suits up and plays any basketball before June or even later, he breaks the bone in his foot again. I hate to say it, Cherry plays in the next few weeks he will fully break the bone and end his career and almost ruin his chances to play in the NBA. Anyway, Jon you do a great job. Thank you for your blog and hell it is yours. Write what you want. I'll still read it and so will most of the Weber State faithful.

I want to make a comment about the game taking place tonight between MU and NAU. It is my hope that the officials tonight don't make the difference in who wins this game.

To make this point I would encourage anyone to watch the last couple of minutes in the NAU versus Weber State game last week. It absolutely floors me when you have a team as good as Weber get help from officiating just because they are the team that is supposed to win. I know what you are thinking: Here we go again with another officiating conspiracy rant. First, you are naive if you don't think it happens. Money is the root of all evil and there's no exception in sports. Second let me make it clear, I believe most officials are doing their best to do their jobs honorably without bias and that biased officiating is the exception rather than the rule. I also think some officials don't intend to sway the outcome of a game but the fact still remains they do. Case and point, a foul was called on a NAU player during the last two minutes of the NAU – Weber game last week. When the player confronted the official about seeing the foul the official said to him "Well, it appeared that you fouled him." Appeared? Really? During a crucial point in the game you are making calls that APPEAR to be fouls? There were other questionable calls made at the end of this game. Hey don’t take my word for it. Watch the last couple of minutes of this game and make up your own mind.

I love sports and one reason is sometimes the underdog knocks off the team that is supposed to win. That’s why March Madness is so great. But it is disheartening when you witness the obvious inconsistency of fouls being called or not called favoring one team over another during a close game.. The point I’m trying to make, albeit with a drawn out rant, if the game tonight between MU and NAU is close down the stretch, I hope performance, execution, and strategy is the deciding factor on who wins and not officiating. I think MU as well as NAU deserves it that way.

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I am a University of North Dakota alum, Denver resident, and college basketball lover. Email me at bigskybball@gmail.com for links, comments, tips, advertising, etc

For the end of the 2015-16 season, Kyle Franko will be taking over the site. He is a former Idaho State beat writer that loves the Big Sky! Email him with any questions, tips, or comments at kyle.franko3@gmail.com